Alex Scott: Bournemouth's star in the making

Even though he might not be household name just yet, Alex Scott is already showing his class in this new look Bournemouth team. Andoni Iraola is managing his minutes as he didn't make a first team appearance until the end of October where he was a starter in Bournemouth's 2-1 loss against Wolves at home. This was due to a knee injury sustained in pre-season a week before he made the switch to the south coast. Capable of playing anywhere in central midfield, Scott joined the Cherries from Bristol City for £20m in the summer and he's also made 9 appearances for England's u20 team. 

What really stands out when watching Scott is the ease with which he controls the ball. His quick footwork, small turning circle when receiving, as well as use of step-overs and drag-backs (without overdoing it) let him glide past opponents. These attributes make him an excellent ball carrier and a great option to progress the ball from his own half into the middle and final 3rds.

His off-ball movement to show for the ball and create space also stands out as he's already developing a decent amount of gravity, and is alert enough to play the ball off quickly to a teammate. He's also willing to move into the flanks to receive from his full-backs or wingers to either play the ball back inside or cross the ball on either foot. 

Scott is set to be a key part of Bournemouth's season as he's seemingly Iraola's first choice to start at number 10 behind Dominic Solanke and he also acts as a second striker when Bournemouth press in a 442 out of possession. 

I think his future does lie as a number 10 behind the striker due to how good his movement is combined with his vision and final ball (even though it can still be improved). When watching him you'll often hear him compared to Jack Grealish - more specifically Grealish's time at Aston Villa - and it's not hard to see why as they both carry themselves with an intangible swagger when they're on the ball. I can see that he'll score a good chunk of his future goals crashing into opposition boxes to get on the end of cut-backs. He's also aware enough to assist his teammates from those sorts of areas from either flank as Bournemouth are capable of playing very quick football that catches opposition defences off-guard.

He'll no doubt be called up to Lee Carsley's England u21 squad soon enough and I wouldn't be surprised if he makes the senior squad in the not too distant future.